August 10, 2009

Notre Dame blarney: Charlie Weis on fullbacks, freshmen and more

In a description that will contend for most wince-inducing moment of the first week of camp, Charlie Weis says his left knee takes a "hard left" after the joint when he walks. So following right knee replacement last year, the Notre Dame coach said Monday that he'll have the left knee changed out sometime in the spring of 2010.

And less than a month ago, Weis wasn't even sure he could direct the Irish from the sidelines this fall.

"Three weeks ago, I would have said there was no way I could stand on the sideline for a game yet," Weis said. "But in the last three weeks it's taken a drastic turn for better. I still don't have great staying power, but every day that's getting better and better.

"Finally by next summer I'll have two mechanical knees and be out of pain."

Here's a sampling of what Weis had to say on other subjects Monday:

On first impressions from the freshmen: "I have a couple of my administrative guys that, in practice, are watching nothing but the freshmen... It's about what you'd imagine. Almost all of them looked a lot better the second day than they did the first day, regardless of who they were… I could start with the likely cast of characters and start talking about them, but you all know kind of know where that's heading. We'll just wait until they've done something."

On James Aldridge, and not the bigger Robert Hughes, playing fullback:"Obviously I'm not going to have (Aldridge) lead right in on nose tackles like you might do with (former Irish fullback) Asaph Schwapp. As far as the fullback role we've created, James has shown to be the best guy to do those tasks. Robert is a big halfback. That's what he is. Just because he's 235 (pounds) does not mean he's better suited to the position."

On the flexibility afforded by Aldridge at fullback:"You combine with James and let's say Armando (Allen), and you motion Armando out of the backfield. Well, now you can see what coverage teams are playing against you, you can get matchups based off that coverage, and if they spread out with you and treat Armando like a wide receiver, you hand off the ball to James and you have the same advantage you have if he was a tailback."

On walk-on tight end Bobby Burger: "He's going to find his way to the field whether it's as the third tight end or on special teams. This is not just a walk-that's out here running reps now. This kid can play. It's pretty obvious to the coaching staff and to the players that the kid can play."

On the lack of depth chart movement in the first few days of camp:"In reality I think you want to get through the first five days, through the acclimatization days. Practice is longer to start with and a lot more teaching goes on and there are a lot more reps that go on. Once you've gotten through the first five days, when you get into full pads and start hitting and going live, that's when there will be a little bit of a shakeup."

On sideline defensive tackle Hafis Williams' return: "He's going to go see the doctor today or tomorrow and we should get that cleared up."

On the voting for captains next week:"A week from now, when (the players) end up picking them, they'll end up picking he right one. Based not on reputation but by what's actually going on out there. I feel good about that."

On Mike Ragone's return from knee injury:"Is Ragone going to be able to be a frontline second tight end, allowing us to do everything we want to do in our packages? And it's the best I've seen him since he was a freshman. There's no limp, he's not slipping coming out of breaks. And he's significantly bigger. I haven't seen him look like that, really, in well over a year."

Because no team in Illinois will ever reach the same level as Notre Dame. Northwestern has been in back-to-back bowls only once in its history and their last bowl win was 60 years ago. You guys will be lucky to finish 8-4 and that's against fierce competition like Towson, Eastern Michigan, Syracuse, Purdue, Miami OH, and Indiana. Get serious.

I agree with Chitownagain that the Trib should increase coverage of Chicago and (state of) Illinois college football teams. It's not whether NW or U of I have better programs or history (even combined) than ND. Simply put, South Bend is NOT a Chicago suburb and Notre Dame should NOT get more coverage than the true local teams.

It's supply and demand, folks. ND articles sell more papers and get more internet hits than NW or U of I, therefore generate more advertising revenue. The teams' histories, success, and location have nothing to do with it, they'll keep writing ND stories as long as the demand is there. South Bend might not be a Chicago suburb, but there are a ton of ND alumni there... and ND stories get a ton of people across the country reading online.

Seriously...
NW? Who cares about NW?
What a useless program...
Illinois? Seriously? Whocares about Illinois? They'll never win the Big Ten.
ND... like it or not... is the team around these parts. Only real serious NCAA program. Who cares of it's in Indiana? It still draws more fans from the Chi area than both the local programs combined. X2!

If your upset that NW or U of I isnt getting as much written about them, start commenting whenever Shannon Ryan writes and article about those teams. IF the Trib knows you actually care about either of those teams, they will write more. Coming on an ND story(which you dont even care about) and bashing does you no good. Especially complaining to the ND beat writer. Thats like complaiing to the Cubs beat writer about not getting enough White Sox stories.

About Brian Hamilton

Brian Hamilton was assigned to the Notre Dame beat in July 2007 and is curious to see if fans have any interest in what happens to the football team there.

Since joining the Tribune in September 2005, Brian has covered everything from the Illinois high school cheerleading championships to the WNBA to the Final Four and Super Bowl XLI, nearly all of it without embarrassment. In the summer of 2006, he wrote a profile of a plucky, under-the-radar recruit named Jimmy Clausen, giving the kid an infusion of much-needed publicity.

Prior to arriving at the Tribune, Brian spent six years scraping permafrost off his notebook while working in Minnesota at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and mainly covering college football, basketball and the NBA's Timberwolves. This after attending one of the best schools for journalism in America, Northwestern University, and taking full advantage by majoring in English and creative writing while dropping his one journalism class after two weeks.

Brian grew up on the north side of Westfield, N.J., and now lives in Lakeview. He has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany. Merlin Olsen comes over on occasion.